The game of golf has become one of the most popular participation and spectator sports throughout most of the industrial world. Its popularity is relatively easy to understand in that it may be played at virtually any skill level with considerable enjoyment. The benefits of golf as a sport and relation activity are well known. Golf provides beneficial exercise, outdoor activity with plenty of fresh air and usually moves at a relaxing stress-free pace. The apparatus used to play golf is relatively simple in its basic construction. The user employs a plurality of golf clubs each having elongated handles and extending usually cylindrical somewhat flexible shaft portions which terminate in a club head designed to strike the ball. The club heads are subject to substantial specialization in that the material used and interacting club face structure are varied to provide the appropriate club under virtually any condition of play. At the initial points called tees within the golf course, the user generally elevates the ball upon a small raised support known generally as a tee. The ball itself comprises a small very hard and highly elastic ball having a pebbled or dimpled outer surface which is usually formed of a hard rubber or plastic material.
As is well known, children innately desire to imitate or mimic the adult activities and situations which they observe in their surroundings. Sports and games are no exception to this general rule and thus children often desire to imitate or mimic the adults sports activities which they observe. In many ways, the game of golf is an excellent amusement and entertainment activity for young children in that it provides development and improvement of several basic skills. For example, the proper use of the golf club in striking the ball improves hand to eye coordination and manual dexterity. The visual distance and space judgments required to properly engage in the game of golf provide beneficial exercise of the child's spatial judgment and coordinating skills.
However, despite the many benefits to be provided to young children by participation in the game of golf, several safety concerns generally restrict the activity to older children and deny these benefits to younger children. There remains therefore a need in the art for golf playsets which may be safely utilized by very young children without compromising legitimate concerns of safety and injury avoidance. In addition, there remains a further need in the art for such golf playsets which are more appropriate to the limited skill level of young children while nonetheless providing amusement, entertainment and play motivation.